Green tomato extract attenuates high-fat-diet-induced obesity through activation of the AMPK pathway in C57BL/6 mice

• Published in: The Journal of nutritional biochemistry Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 335 - 342
• Main Authors: Choi, Kyeong-Mi, Lee, Youn-Sun, Shin, Dong-Mi, Lee, Seunghyun, Yoo, Kwang-Sik, Lee, Mi Kyeong, Lee, Jae-Hak, Kim, Sun Yeou, Lee, Yong-Moon, Hong, Jin-Tae, Yun, Yeo-Pyo, Yoo, Hwan-Soo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 2013
• Subjects: 3T3-L1 Cells - drug effects; acetyl-CoA carboxylase; Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase - metabolism; adipose tissue; Adipose Tissue - drug effects; Adipose Tissue - metabolism; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases - metabolism; Animals; Anti-Obesity Agents - pharmacology; Body Weight - drug effects; Carrier Proteins - metabolism; CCAAT-Enhancer-Binding Protein-alpha - metabolism; Cell Differentiation - drug effects; cholesterol; Cholesterol - blood; Diet, High-Fat - adverse effects; Eating - drug effects; high fat diet; hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase; Lipids - blood; Liver - drug effects; Liver - metabolism; low density lipoprotein; Lycopersicon esculentum - chemistry; Male; metabolic diseases; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; obesity; Obesity - diet therapy; Obesity - etiology; Obesity - metabolism; Organ Size - drug effects; Perilipin-1; Phosphoproteins - metabolism; Phosphorylation - drug effects; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; PPAR gamma - metabolism; protein kinases; risk factors; Tomatine - pharmacology; tomatoes
• ISSN: 0955-2863; 1873-4847
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2012.06.018

Obesity is a risk factor for numerous metabolic disorders. Recently, natural compounds that may be beneficial for improving obesity have received increasing attention. In this study, we investigated whether red and green tomato extracts attenuate high-fat-diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice. The mice were maintained on a normal diet (ND) or high-fat diet (HFD) for 4 weeks and then fed ND, HFD, HFD plus 2% red tomato extract (RTE) or HFD plus 2% green tomato extract (GTE) for 13 weeks. The weekly food intakes among the groups were not significantly different. Body weight of mice fed HFD plus GTE was significantly decreased to the level of mice fed ND, but the body weight was only slightly reduced in mice fed HFD plus RTE. Epididymal adipose tissue and liver weights were significantly decreased in mice fed HFD plus GTE compared to those in HFD. Serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in mice fed GTE were modestly reduced, and liver total cholesterol level was strongly decreased in HFD plus GTE-fed mice compared to that in HFD-fed mice. Adenosine-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation in liver from HFD plus GTE-fed mice was significantly elevated, and HMG-CoA reductase expression was also significantly decreased. GTE strongly decreased the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha and perilipin in the adipose tissue of mice fed HFD plus GTE. Our results indicate that the antiobesity effects of GTE may be associated with activation of the AMPK pathway.